t h e m a y f i l e s is foremost a family blog, chronicling everyday life. Life including natural, healthy eating (with recipes thrown in at random), home educating (with ideas popping up sporadically), an attempt to homestead on .2 acres (with very meager yields), raising 3 of 4 children with a rare genetic disorder, and lots of highly personal family triumphs and failures. You may also find an eclectic array of musings on politics, exercise, sewing, emergency preparedness, backyard chickens, and religion. This blog isn't a campaign to glorify anyone or anything. Just simply a record.

7.30.2010

35 and Still...



...A hunk a hunk of burning love!

I love you Brent.
I love that you will smash your face in a cake lovingly decorated and far too intensely fondled by your two daughters. I love that you started that tradition.

I love that you have patiently undertaken more than you bargained for as we went through this pregnancy and birth.

I love that for your birthday you wanted a new van, new washing machine and dryers, and a haircut for Ellery.

I stand firm, that I am the luckiest woman alive.


7.28.2010

So That's What They're For


Dive for the rocket....
Shoot the rocket...

Go fetch the rocket....

We decided to put all those swimming suits to good use. The only extra-curricular activity the children have done this summer is swimming lessons. Our neighbor put in a pool and their 20-year-old daughter teaches lessons. We've done 5 weeks. Just this week, I realized Emmett should have been participating. We split our hour time slot into three parts and the little, fearless one has been in heaven (in his swimming suit of course).


7.27.2010

Boggled



I stumble across something like this every so often and I just don't even know what to think. What possibly could have spurred this random, intriguing contraption?
A zebra hairbow, a sticky hand from the dentist and a flashlight.

Imagination.

I'll have to ask the children its purpose and function.

What's your guess?

7.26.2010

How I Feel


A bit frustrated.

That's how little Berks and I felt about our doctors appointments last week. My blood pressure continues to be quite erratic. Those darn "bad" genes keep kicking in. High some days and low others. My doctors were concerned. Thankfully they are giving me some time to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight and to start exercising again. Hopefully that will bring things under control.

Speaking of weight...Berkeley was 7 lbs 5 oz. That was our token piece of good news. She is gaining weight like a champ. You will begin to notice a bit of chubbiness peaking through.
But what was so puzzling is she had zero improvement on her oxygen needs. It was disappointing. I don't know at what point I begin to get more concerned about a possible alternative underlying issue.


7.22.2010

A Little Riddle


What do these 3 pictures have in common????




ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.

And therein lies the crux of the problem.

Now, I will speak candidly. Not once in 6 years have I even thought about cleaning my bathroom vents, or in pulling my fridge out and sweeping and mopping underneath it. And if it did cross my mind, I don't make the time (I had to add the qualifier "make" since I am speaking in all candor) to devote to it.

I am very good about keeping up with clutter, and decent at staying fairly organized. Those things drive me bonkers if they aren't in order. But thoroughly mopping the floors (beyond the wet rag wipe) and cleaning blinds (probably done 2x in 6 years) are not my fortes. As I prioritize my time, this type of cleaning is just not on the top of the list.

Bed rest + New Baby + Not-Very-Good-at-it-in-the-First-Place = Rebecca is Getting a House Cleaner

The first two factors in that equation, finally put Brent over the top and he begged me to find some help.

The cleaner I found came highly recommended from several neighbors. Affordable. Thorough. Moves the furniture. It seemed like a fit for me. Earlier this week she cheerfully arrived and let me know it should take about 4 hours to do the initial deep clean. Ummm, at the four hour mark she was still in my 600 sq foot upstairs. At this point the true scope of my negligence began to surface. Over 7 hours of cleaning, at an intense pace, and she was still uncomfortable because she had to leave and hadn't gotten to everything. This woman takes pride in her work and she is thorough!

I began to laugh as she told me we would all breathe easier now and have a overall better feeling of wellness. If I was prone to be insulted I surely would have been. But thankfully, I could just laugh at myself. Soon she was laughing as well (in between her sneezes). She assured me, she has seen much worse homes. But who are we kidding? I know that was the token consolation phrase to the haggard, negligent housekeeper. It didn't change the gritty details.

I begged her not to share my dirty secrets (literally) with the neighbors. But here I am spilling them myself for the world and my posterity to read. Oh well. None of us are perfect.


I have to admit as my children made their forts today I didn't have to cringe as they pulled the cushions off the couch. There were no crumbs, pencils, or pennies.

Hopefully a few hours a month will help keep the dust bunnies, or jack rabbits away.

7.21.2010

Zuchini?

Callista: Mom! Mom! Mom! Berkeley's zuchini is out of her nose!!!

Ummm...still not sure how we went from "canula" to "zuchini" but somehow she made the mental jump....

Berkeley goes to the doctor today. We are hopeful she is showing some improvement with her oxygen needs. Last week we had a brush with the ER because of retractions, but after a hard cry, a bunch of really big coughs, and some suctioning she was fine.

7.20.2010


This is what your garage looks like when you have 4 kids and really like things with wheels. ( I even think there are 3 bikes, several mountain bike helmets and 2 strollers missing from this shot.)

This picture was sent as a response to a good friend of my husbands (his old mission president) who sent him a picture of his garage packed full of extremely fancy, expensive, exotic cars. I think this is equally as impressive don't you? Brent and I had a good laugh.

Believe it or not I am constantly cleaning and organizing this garage, but it is impossible to cut a dent in it.

7.17.2010

Piano Recital #4



Ellery literally sparkled in her recital today. I think I was far more nervous than she was. Life has been so unusual for us the last little while I haven't been able to help her practice as much. She played her piece "Minuet in Rondo Form" by Rameau the best she has ever done. And guess what? She remembered to bow!

In her dress she designed and made, my heart was bursting for her.

Budding Seamstress


For Ellery's 7th birthday in May she received her own sewing machine and two gift cards to JoAnns Fabric. I took her to pick out a pattern and material 3 months ago. She chose a little dress and teal, sequined material. Sometimes I really struggle to keep myself out of the decision making process. I didn't have her vision, but she had an eye.

Cutting the pattern and material were not as glorious as she envisioned. But anytime she got to use her machine she was in raptures. The dress we were making was for her upcoming piano recital.
We finished cutting and the sleeves, only to have me thrown back on bedrest. The sewing machine was put away, and we pulled out an equally sparkly, Christmas dress from Mimi for the recital.

Three days ago, Ellery and I decided it was high time we finished off this dress. We pulled back out her sewing machine and got to work. Unfortunately, the pattern she chose was a little too difficult for her to be completely independent on. But she loved it, so helped her work through the directions. (And to be honest, many times sewing patterns trick me up, they can be quite complicated or at least convoluted in their descriptions.)

She insisted on wearing the bodice while finishing the skirt. The end result was darling, and just in time for her next piano recital. We finished this morning about an hour before her recital started!
After the recital, I took Ellery out to lunch and then we did a little grocery shopping at Costco. It was wonderful because at least four random strangers stopped Ellery and commented on her beautiful dress. What a boost. I was so proud of her.

7.14.2010

Wynken, Blynken and Nod

Wynken, Blynken and Nod by Eugene Field


Wynken, Blynken, and Nod one night
Sailed off in a wooden shoe---
Sailed on a river of crystal light,
Into a sea of dew.
"Where are you going, and what do you wish?"
The old moon asked the three.
"We have come to fish for the herring fish
That live in this beautiful sea;
Nets of silver and gold have we!"
Said Wynken, Blynken, And Nod.

The old moon laughed and sang a song,
As they rocked in the wooden shoe,
And the wind that sped them all night long
Ruffled the waves of dew.
The little stars were the herring fish
That lived in that beautiful sea---
"Now cast your nets wherever you wish---
Never afeard are we";
So cried the stars to the fishermen three:
Wynken, Blynken, And Nod.

All night long their nets they threw
To the stars in the twinkling foam---
Then down from the skies came the wooden shoe,
Bringing the fishermen home;
'T was all so pretty a sail it seemed
As if it could not be,
And some folks thought 't was a dream they 'd dreamed
Of sailing that beautiful sea---
But I shall name you the fishermen three:
Wynken, Blynken, And Nod.

Wynken and Blynken are two little eyes,
And Nod is a little head,
And the wooden shoe that sailed the skies
Is a wee one's trundle-bed.
So shut your eyes while mother sings
Of wonderful sights that be,
And you shall see the beautiful things
As you rock in the misty sea,
Where the old shoe rocked the fishermen three:
Wynken, Blynken, And Nod.


We had just been working on reciting this charming classic lullaby minutes before I came upon this scene. I left to retrieve something from the storage room and came back to this sight. The perfection in soothing verse led to the perfection of this peaceful picture.

7.13.2010

Worthy Endeavor

If you have a minute check out this article featuring Brent's cousins nonprofit organization These Numbers Have Faces. What I love about what Justin does, is he isn't offering handouts. He empowers young men and women with education, and then demands of them a return. They must build up others in the same way they were lifted.

If you are ever looking for a worthy organization to support this is one.


Fashion Sensitive


Of all my children, Emmett is most sensitive about what he wears.
Recently, he is just as sweet as peaches and cream, if he can wear his swimming suits all day.
That includes a desperate attempt to wear one to church on Sunday as well.

Somehow, he has ended up with three swimming outfits.
I think he likes these nine-month size shirts because they make his muscles look big.
What do you think?

These photos of course are taken over the course of a single day.